He’s the hockey-playing son of former NBA forward Ronald “Popeye” Jones, a Maverick from 1993-96 and again in 2002-03.

On Sunday afternoon, Seth Jones surely will become the highest-selected Texas-born player in the history of the NHL draft, surpassing Corpus Christi’s Brian Leetch, the ninth pick in 1986.

Jones could even become the first African-American player chosen first overall.

But Jones is much more than any of those things.

“I kind of look at myself as just me, just Seth,” Jones said as he prepared for the draft, which will be held in Newark, N.J. “I know people have a job to do and they want to write stories, but I think a lot of this stuff gets drawn out or played up.

“It’s all just part of the story.”

Seth Jones is from both Texas and Colorado. He is large parts of his father and mother. He is a little brother and a big brother. He has a unique understanding of pro sports as a career, even if his career of choice will be much different from that of his basketball-playing dad.

But maybe the best way to narrow things down is to simply say he’s a hockey player.

In fact, there are many who believe he is the best 18-year-old hockey player in the world. Jones, a 6-4, 206-pound defenseman, is listed No. 1 by Central Scouting, The Hockey News and McKeen’s Scouting Service.

He was expected to be the first overall pick in the draft until Colorado, which holds the pick, announced last week it was leaning toward taking a forward.

Career-conscious

So Jones might not get the accolades as the No. 1 pick that many were planning for him, and some think he should be disappointed by that revelation.

But Jones says he’s fine.

“It’s a business, and people have to make choices,” he said. “I never let myself think I was going to be taken first overall, because you just never know, so much changes in that regard. So, honestly, I just want to get drafted and start doing what I need to do to have a long NHL career.”

And that says a lot about Jones. He is mature and measured, patient and persistent. He is a lot of different things.

“He’s a good kid,” said former Stars defenseman Craig Ludwig, who coached Jones for a season in youth hockey. “I know you hear that a lot about players at times like this, but he really is a good kid with a solid head on his shoulders and a lot of talent.

“He’s had some challenges, and he’s had to move around and make adjustments, and that’s probably helped him in the long run. But, you know, even four or five years ago, he just had that calm about him.”

“He just knew what he wanted, he always fit in, he always seemed to understand a situation or assess it and then make good decisions,” Amy said. “He just never got flustered. If it was hockey practice at 6 a.m. or hockey practice at 10 p.m., he was ready to go.”

Seth was born in Arlington on Oct. 3, 1994, and bounced around the first few years of his life from Dallas to Toronto to Boston with his dad’s playing career, landing in Denver when he was 4.

He became a hockey player in Denver when his older brother, Justin, decided the sport looked like fun. Popeye Jones asked Joe Sakic, then starring for the Avalanche, how he could get his sons involved in hockey, and Justin and Seth began participating.

“I had no idea about the sport,” Popeye said. “I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew that they loved the sport and wanted to play it more than basketball.

“They still play basketball and they like basketball, but not like they love hockey.”

Seth said he fell in love with the game in 2001 when he was 6 and the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. He had seats on the glass for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals — the perks of having a famous father — and watched the Avalanche take a 3-1 victory over New Jersey.

“The speed of the game and the excitement of the moment, that did it for me,” he said. “I just knew that was the sport I wanted to play.”

So while Popeye sought as much help from his hockey-playing friends as possible, Amy took over as “Hockey Mom.” She researched the best leagues, the best skating coaches and got her kids involved in the right programs. Seth took off, and started playing with older kids.

Return to Texas

The family remained in Denver even as Popeye’s career continued with Washington, Golden State and a second stop with the Mavericks. When the family decided to move back to Texas in 2006, there was some trepidation.

“To be honest, yes I was worried about hockey in Texas and whether it measured up to hockey in Colorado, but it worked out for a couple of reasons,” Amy said. “One, the youth hockey is great here, and they do an excellent job coaching. Two, Seth decided to play on a team with boys his own age, and that actually was a turning point for him. That’s where I think he finally decided he could be a leader.”

Ludwig said he saw that in Jones early on.

“There was one time where we just talked on the bench during a game, and he would tell me what he was seeing, and he was like a coach out there,” Ludwig said. “I’d be trying to explain things to the other kids, and he was already two moves ahead.”

Jones joined the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. and finished high school there. Then, he headed to Portland last season and played for the Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League. Portland won the league championship and eventually lost in the Memorial Cup finals.

“I think all of the traveling and experience has been good for me,” said Jones, who attended school in Colorado, Texas and Michigan and also has been a part of international travel with U.S. Hockey. “I think it all contributes to who you are.”

Sakic, the man who helped the Jones brothers get started in hockey, is now executive vice president for the Colorado Avalanche and will decide whether the team chooses Seth with the first pick Sunday. Florida has the second selection and Tampa Bay the third.

Justin Jones, 23, played for the Texas Tornado and at the University of Denver and still is pursuing a hockey career. Their brother Caleb, 16, played for the Dallas Stars Elite team and is expected to join the National Development Program next season. Seth said he gets the benefit of being both older brother and young brother.

“With Justin, we’re good friends, and we get along really well. Caleb is pretty feisty, so there’s more battling,” he said. “We’re really competitive all of us, so that’s a lot of what we do.”

Jones said that the video gaming is intense and that they all play pickup basketball and get pretty physical.

“I definitely think I’m the best basketball player,” he said.

Popeye Jones said he sees similarities between Seth and himself. He said that he had to think the game of basketball to succeed, that he had to understand and process information and anticipate plays. He also has a laid-back style that keeps him calm under pressure. Popeye said mom Amy gives Seth a different talent.

“She gave him his competitive side,” Popeye said. “They talk all the time in hockey about ‘grit.’ Well, she gave him his ‘grit.’”

A role model

With Popeye traveling quite a bit as a player and with the couple divorcing a few years back, Popeye said the boys spend more time with their mom. That’s another interesting part of the Jones family.

“Seth grew up in a mostly suburban, white environment, but he is seen as a black man, and so you do wonder how that affects him,” Amy Jones said of the hockey world and how it can sometimes be cruel.

“We’ve talked about it every now and then, and I’ve come to the conclusion that he just gets along with everyone, so it’s never an issue for him. With him, I truly believe there are no stereotypes. He’s just a really wonderful, special young man.”

Unlike many black hockey players before him, Jones said he has not had problems with racial talk on the ice or off. He said he would like to help communicate to young African-Americans that hockey is open to them.

“I do know that if I can help set an example for any kids or help them get started in the game, I’d like to do that,” he said. “I don’t mind trying to be a role model.”

The irony is he might be a role model for all groups and not just one. His last year has been filled with opinions about just how good he can be, whether he’s worth the top overall pick, and that can be hard to take sometimes. But Jones has juggled playing the game in a tough Memorial Cup tournament, and attending the draft combine, and taking team interviews and participating in media interviews — and he’s done it with a lot of grace.

“He calms me down,” Amy Jones said of the whirlwind schedule. “All of this is going on, and he’s the one who tells me it’s all going to be fine and it’s going to work out. That’s just how he is.”

And, maybe as much as any other definition people want to place on him, it’s who he is.

Follow Mike Heika on Twitter at @MikeHeika.

IN THE KNOW Seth Jones

Position: Defenseman. Shoots: Right

Born: Oct. 3, 1994, Arlington

Height: 6-4. Weight: 206

Notable: Son of former Mavericks player and assistant coach Ronald “Popeye” Jones. … Started playing hockey when he was 5 years old and living in Denver (where his dad played for the Nuggets). … Joined youth leagues in Denver at age 8. … Moved to Texas at age 12. Started playing for Dallas Stars Junior Elite program. … Attended Spring Creek Academy in Plano. … Joined United States National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. at age 15. … Played two seasons there and attended Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. … Joined Portland Winterhawks of Western Hockey League at age 17. Tallied 56 points (14 goals, 42 assists) in 61 games last season.

International play: In 2010, he played at the Under 17 Four Nations Cup and helped Team USA win gold. … In 2011, he was a part of the USA squad that took a silver in the U17 World Hockey Challenge and also was a part of the squad that took gold at the IIHF U18 World Championships. … He was selected for Team USA for the World Juniors in 2012, but withdrew because of an injury. … He helped win a gold medal at the 2012 IIHF U18 World Championships. … FIn January, he helped Team USA to the gold medal at the 2013 World Juniors.

Did you know? Jones is writing a blog about his draft-weekend experiences in New York for www.nhl.com.

Feeling a draft

While the Colorado Avalanche hold the first pick in Sunday’s NHL Entry Draft and say they will not select Jones first overall, there are many drafting services that rank him as the best player in this class:

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